IRS Whistleblower Against Hunter Biden Comes Forward: As the whistleblower goes public, Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Daniel Werfel has denied reports that he intervened to retaliate against Hunter Biden whistleblowers within the IRS.
Hunter Biden Has a New IRS Challenge to Deal With
An IRS veteran who acted as a whistleblower in the investigation of President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden has now come forward publicly.
Gary Shapley, a 14-year veteran of the IRS, came forward in an interview with CBS News Thursday, ahead of his testimony Friday to the House Ways and Means Committee.
“There were multiple steps that were slow-walked – were just completely not done – at the direction of the Department of Justice,” Shapley said in the interview. “When I took control of this particular investigation, I immediately saw deviations from the normal process. It was way outside the norm of what I’ve experienced in the past.”
Shapley did not specifically state out loud that he was referring to the Hunter Biden investigation, but CBS News determined that his complaint was in reference to the younger Biden’s case.
Shapley’s complaints about the investigation date back to 2020, when the Trump Administration was still in office, and continued once the Biden Administration took over.
The investigation into Hunter Biden has been ongoing for over three years, spanning two presidencies and three attorneys general, and is said to involve his taxes, as well as the possibility that he lied on a gun permit application.
“Each and every time, it seemed to always benefit the subject,” Shapley said in the CBS News interview. “It just got to that point where that switch was turned on. And I just couldn’t silence my conscience anymore.”
Shapley also told CBS that he has accepted no money from anyone in coming forward, although a nonprofit whistleblower advocacy group is helping with his legal costs.
“I’m not involved with any of that stuff,” Shapley told CBS. “It’s not what I want to do. I’m just simply not a political person. This is a job, and my oath of office is to treat everybody fairly that we investigate.”
At least two whistleblowers have come forward alleging wrongdoing in the IRS investigation of Hunter Biden.
It was reported last week, by CNN, that one of the whistleblowers had been removed from the investigation, as had the whistleblower’s investigative team. The IRS at the time could not comment on the matter.
Now, per Fox News, the IRS commissioner has denied intervening to retaliate against any whistleblower in the case.
Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Daniel Werfel has written a letter stating that the request to move the whistleblower to a different assignment from the Department of Justice, not the IRS.
“I want to state unequivocally that I have not intervened – and will not intervene – in any way that would impact the status of any whistleblower,” Werfel said in the letter, as obtained by Fox.
“The IRS whistleblower you reference alleges that the change in their work assignment came at the direction of the Department of Justice. As a general matter and not in reference to any specific case, I believe it is important to emphasize that in any matter involving federal judicial proceedings, the IRS follows the direction of the Justice Department,” Commissioner Werfel added.
Expertise and Experience: Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.